Align369

I think a lot of people, including myself at times, can unknowingly run on external validation.

You become the person who helps.
Who listens.
Who shows up.
Who makes people feel supported.

And because people appreciate you for it, it gives you energy back. You feel useful. Needed. Valued.

But then something strange happens.

When it’s time to do something for yourself, the energy suddenly drops.
You procrastinate.
You feel flat.
Even simple things for yourself can feel harder than helping everyone else.

I realised the issue wasn’t that I was lazy or unmotivated.

It was that I was still emotionally feeding myself through other people’s recognition.

And that’s when I understood the shift that needed to happen.

The goal is not to stop receiving recognition.
The shift is learning where to receive it from.

Because external validation feels good… however it fades quickly, which is why we keep craving more of it.

But pride can.

And honestly, I think that’s because it’s humanly very hard to give ourselves the same emotional recognition we seek from others.

Telling ourselves “I’m worthy” can sometimes feel forced or empty at first.
But pride feels different because it’s built through action.

Not ego.
Not arrogance.
Just the quiet kind of pride that comes from recognising our own worth through the things we do.

The kind where you finish the day and think:
“I’m actually proud of myself for that.”

Proud you rested when you needed to.
Proud you kept a promise to yourself.
Proud you handled something differently.
Proud you did something nobody else even saw.

Not because someone clapped for you.
But because you honoured yourself.

And that’s when everything changes.

Because pride becomes a more grounded and sustainable form of self-recognition.

That kind of pride creates energy.
And that energy ripple effects into every part of life ✨✨✨

Late to the red light district session at this morning! 🔥🚴‍♀️

No parking 😬
Parked up the street…
Sprinted down!
Walked in as the class started and even the trainer went “she made it!” 🤣
Lucky my friend Sandra saved me a bike!!! 🤩

My watch says 1h10 🤪
Absolutely not!
That was 40 minutes and even that nearly sent me into another dimension because I forgot to stop my watch afterwards 😅

Hardest session so far. I was sweating like crazy which is unusual for me. Maybe because I actually hydrated properly for once? 🤷‍♀️

Best moment though… the trainer came over to my bike and I genuinely thought he was lowering the resistance to save my soul.

Nope.

Man pushed me to 100–110 RPM instead 😭🔥

He stayed there encouraging me and honestly, I’m glad he did because it showed me I had more in me than I thought.

Then near the end he yelled:
“If you’ve got 20% left leaving this room, you didn’t give it everything.”

And somehow my exhausted brain went:
YES COACH 😳🚴‍♀️🔥

I left completely wrecked, dripping in sweat and trying to remember who signed me up for this… 🤪 but also weirdly proud 🥹

Went to the dentist for another deep cavity filling today… second one in two weeks 🥺

Last appointment, I was emotional on the chair while explaining to my dentist that I’m a mindset coach and I’m sitting here petrified….
The irony was not lost on me 😅

I’ve realised I’m not actually scared of dentists.
I’m scared of what my nervous system remembers from decades ago.

The anticipation.
The sounds.
The feeling of not being in control.

But today, while watching Netflix on the screen above me, I noticed something interesting…

Instead of bracing myself for the worst, distracting myself, pinching my hands painfully, or mentally trying to escape the moment… I started calming the scared part of my mind instead.

While she was working on my tooth and Netflix was casually playing above me, I noticed myself doing something I teach others all the time.
I caught my mind preparing for danger that wasn’t actually happening.

And surprisingly… my body responded differently too.

Not perfectly calm though. Let’s not get carried away here 😂
The stress ball was still being tightly squeezed like it owed me money 🤪

But underneath the fear, there was awareness instead of panic…

And honestly, that’s what healing often looks like in real life
Not becoming fearless overnight
Just reacting a little differently than before ❤️

I got gifted these organic chokos today… and honestly I can’t tell if they’re vegetables or props from a sci-fi movie 😂

Apparently people actually cook and eat these things on purpose.

Meanwhile I’m over here holding them like I’ve just discovered a new species:
“Cute… but what do you DO with it?” 👀

Roast them?
Stuff them?
Put them in a curry?
Leave them outside as garden décor?

I refuse to believe generations of people have been eating giant wrinkly green pears without having a very good recipe for it 🤣

So… please help a confused French woman out…
What do you ACTUALLY make with chokos? 👀

Hit me with your best choko/chayote recipes please 🥬✨…..

Round two in the red light district and I’m proud to announce… I survived without seeing the white light this time 🔥🚴‍♀️🤣

This session has weights on the mat between rides, because apparently just cycling in a room hotter than the Sahara wasn’t enough.

Everyone else still looked like Tour de France athletes while I was simply trying to keep my soul inside my body.

But:
• I didn’t get dizzy this time
• I stayed on the bike
• I produced concerning amounts of sweat
• and I only considered quitting 14 times instead of 27

Tiny progress still counts… because last session I was fighting dizziness, this session I was just fighting for oxygen 🔥🤣

And doing it with friends definitely helps.
Nothing builds connection faster than collectively suffering in a glowing red sauna pretending it’s “fun cardio” 🤪🔥

Walked into a random shop today…
saw one box of incense that randomly sparked my interest, so I picked it up just to smell it…

opened it… and apparently the universe had left me a personalised motivational speech inside 🤣

“We believe in you. Chase those electric dreams…”

Out of all the boxes in the shop… I only opened that one 😇

Life has a funny way of sending little reminders when you need them most.
Not always through huge signs. Sometimes through incense packaging apparently ✨✨

Alright universe… message received loud and clear, I’m taking this as my sign to keep going 🥹

What’s the most random “sign” the universe has ever sent you?

Your routine shapes more than your days actually do. It slowly shapes who you become.

When you think the same thoughts, feel the same emotions, and live the same experiences on repeat, your brain gets very efficient at staying the same. It strengthens the same neural pathways again and again. The body starts memorising those emotional states too.

Stress becomes familiar.
Overthinking becomes automatic.
Even unhappiness can become comfortable because the body knows it so well.

At some point, the brain stops creating new patterns and starts predicting life from the past. That’s why people can genuinely want change deeply… while still recreating the same situations.

And honestly, haven’t we all done that at some stage?

The interesting part is that the brain loves novelty.
New experiences force it to adapt.
A new environment, a new conversation, a different routine, learning something uncomfortable, travelling somewhere unfamiliar, even taking a different road home. Tiny shifts still send new signals to the brain.

Then add emotion to it and things start moving faster.

Moments of joy, awe, gratitude, excitement, connection or even healthy fear activate the body differently. Those experiences leave a stronger imprint because you actually felt them.

That’s why some experiences change you forever after only one moment, while years of routine can blur together.

Your body is always listening to how you live.
Not just what you say you want.

So maybe the goal isn’t to completely reinvent your life overnight.
Maybe it starts smaller than that.

Try something new.
Say yes a little more often.
Create more memories instead of repeating the same week twelve times.
Collect moments that make you feel awake again.

Because when your brain experiences new things, new possibilities start feeling normal too.

And maybe that’s where change really begins.

So apparently there’s a “red light district” in Geelong now…
except instead of tourists and poor decisions, it’s stationary bikes and people voluntarily paying to suffer 🤣

Walked into a 37-degree room glowing bright red and immediately felt like I’d entered a nightclub designed by fitness addicts.

Forty minutes later:
• hair ruined
• dignity gone
• electrolytes missing
• somehow already checking class times for next week

The motivational instructor kept saying “you’ve got this” while my legs were quietly preparing a resignation letter.

10/10 experience. Slightly traumatic. Highly recommend 🔥🚴‍♀️

There’s something powerful about looking at a photo of your younger self and realising that little person is still with you.

Still reacting to certain situations.
Still holding onto moments they never fully understood.
Still quietly shaping the way you see yourself and the world around you.

A lot of adulthood becomes survival without us noticing.
Staying strong. Keeping busy. Taking care of everyone else. Pushing emotions aside because there’s always something else to do.

Meanwhile, the child within us is often carrying unmet needs, old wounds, fear of rejection, fear of not being enough, or the pressure to earn love through perfection, achievement, humour, silence, or people pleasing.

Reconnecting with your inner child can look surprisingly simple…
and at the same time, confronting and deeply healing.

It can be found in the way you finally allow yourself to rest without guilt.
The way you stop speaking harshly to yourself.
The way you start creating, laughing, dancing, expressing, or feeling again.
The way you begin listening to your own needs instead of abandoning them.

Because once you start understanding where your patterns, fears, reactions, and needs truly come from, life begins to unfold differently. Relationships soften. Boundaries become clearer. Joy feels safer to experience.

There’s a version of you that still deserves your attention, patience, and love.

What would your younger self need to hear from you today? 🤍

Parkrun this morning because I woke up way too early… clearly not supervised 😂

Did a bit better than my last runs (low bar, but we take wins 💪)
They changed the route though… and I swear I saw the fastest runners already coming back while I had just crossed the start line 🤣 humbling experience!

Took me a solid 3km to find my rhythm…
Right side hurting, brain saying “just walk”…
Me: “absolutely not, we are finishing what we started” 😤

Eventually the pain disappeared, proof that ignoring problems sometimes works 😂

Also, for once, can’t even blame a loose bra… Everything was locked in, no excuses, just pure suffering and determination 🤝

Overall:
Mental battle won ✔️
Run completed ✔️
Ego slightly bruised by speedy people ✔️